II. Il Granduca - The Grand Duchess

[fire cat pickles]

Minchiate card deck - Florence - 1860-1890 - Trumps - 02 - Papa due
A. Baragioli (editor) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

The Grand Duchess is comparable to II. The High Priestess in the RWS system. In almost every deck I've seen, this card can be either female or male, though in my opinion leans more toward the feminine. There is an air of "Earth Mother" and certainly the divine feminine with this card. These similarities with HPS do not escape notice.

 

 

As the Fool traipses along his journey, he meets up her and, as she is Papa due cannot escape her life's lesson: "Oh Beauty, find thyself in love, not in the flattery of thy mirror." I can't help but notice that she is looking back (to the left) at the Trickster. Are these life's lessons she is using to make the correct choices? What is truth? This is the third card in the Il Papi sequence, so perhaps there are three truths (your truth, my truth, and G-d's truth)? These are all apt and proper questions we ask ourselves as we mature into adulthood, as does the Fool.

 

 

Self-assessment is key with this card, I think. We venture through life without instructions, as the Trickster learned. It's all trial and error. But with this card, Il Granduca, as we discover more about ourselves--our life's purpose, our sexuality, our identity, our focus in life, etc.---the world is literally at our fingertips (notice the globe she's holding). We have to be careful, though. The advice with this card is to not be overconfident. She sits almost too comfortably in her cushioned chair, with ankles crossed. Is it really wise to be this way? Power and strength can easily fall from our grasp. They will if you let your guard down! That round ball looks like it could roll away at any minute--look behind you!

 

 

Ah, the perils of young adulthood. How does the saying go? "If I only knew then what I know now"?

Edited May 5, 2019 by fire cat pickles